Hit and run - What would you do?

[rudyb]

   A while back I was the victim of a hit and run incident. I parked in the street that night. When I came out to go to work in the morning, I noticed some car parts under my pickup. I thought it was strange and looked my pickup over, but it was still dark and I didn't see any damage. I tossed the parts in the bed and went to work. It was a stormy and dark day until later that afternoon. I came out to my pickup around 1PM and the sun was out. I noticed a large scratch on the driver side front bumper. The bumper was bent, the fender was pushed in, and there was another scuff on the headlight. At this point I was pretty upset and assumed that someone ran into me. I powered down my dash cam hoping that I would keep from over writing valuable footage. When I got home, I loaded the SD card into my PC and discovered that someone ran into me around 1AM that morning. There were a few part numbers on the inside of the car parts left behind so I looked them up on Google. The part numbers matched that of the vehicle that hit me. I called the police and filed a report, along with my insurance company. I got a quote from a body shop and it totaled around $1,300.00. I chose not to claim the damage with insurance and I have not made repairs.

 

   I recently found the vehicle and residence of the person responsible for the damage. They live only a few blocks from me. The vehicle matches the make, model, year, and color or the vehicle that hit my truck. It’s also missing the same body parts that I turned over to the police during the report, and has damage to match the incident.

 

   I told a few peers about this, and they said the police will laugh if I call with this information, as they have more important matters to investigate. That may be true, but as a tax paying, law abiding citizen, I feel that legal action isn’t too much to ask for.

 

   I come to you for advice. Have you been through something like this before? Did it work out? Should I hire an attorney? What would you do? Comments, advice, and criticism are all welcome. Thanks!

[colonel00]

I don't really think it matters much what anyone here says until you contact the police and follow up on your report with the new information.  I guess the only other option would be to seek out an attorney and see if they can provide assistance.  However, I don't think you'd have a small claims case unless you had your own CSI team that could match the car.  I'd just take some photos and go into the police department to talk with someone in person.  Show them the evidence you have and the photos of the matching vehicle that is missing the parts you gave them.

[KARNUT]

I recently saw an episode on judge Judy of a similar event. Parking lot video, matching dents and an eye witness couldn’t get the person to admit fault. She lost, even the post trail interview no fault admitted. Obviously the person is aware of hitting your vehicle. Your probably better off letting it go, rather than deal with that low life.


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[btj_z71]

I'd still call your local PD and let them know.  Cannot hurt anything.

[DougFL]

9 minutes ago, btj_z71 said:

I'd still call your local PD and let them know.  Cannot hurt anything.

I agree, if the person who hit your truck gets away with it, without even a questioning, it will promote their despicable behavior!   I would also inform your Insurance Co. of your findings.  I am sure they will have no problem contacting the suspected hit and run owner.

[Centex14]

As a victim of a hit and run who got pictures of the vehicle and license plate and called the police the second it happened and gave them a description of the person driving, unless it’s major damage and someone can ID the person who hit you they won’t do anything. You can turn it over to them but don’t get your hopes up.


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[Kubs]

I would contact the police, and when they cant do anything take a baseball bat to the windshield of the car that hit you.  It wont solve anything, but it will make you feel better! 

[gupster88]

I was a victim of a hit and run very very similar to your incident earlier this year. Came out to find my truck had been essentially t-boned in the driver rear door. Pulled security cam footage but only thing I had on camera was ONE vehicle coming into the subdivision and leaving that night: newspaper delivery driver. They came in with two good tail lights and left with one busted which was plain as day on camera. I did not have them actually hitting my truck though. My neighbor is a County Deputy Sheriff, he pulled them over a few nights later and questioned them about the damage to their vehicles. They didn't know how it got there.

 

Bottom line, my insurance company and the police both said unless I have either A) confession or B) video evidence of them hitting my truck they can't do a thing about it. Sucks, they put people away for life with less evidence than what we both gathered.

[RecurveBow]

You could go sleep with his wife. 

 

Seriously, report it. Even if you don't have a witness, provide them with what you know (and the car parts you picked up). Basically, give them as much information as possible. It should be enough to at least question the guy. Personally, considering what the attorney will cost and with only $1300 worth of damage, I wouldn't hire one. The best thing to do is just file a report and give them as much information as possible. 

[Retired Bob]

The first thing I would do is to go talk to YOUR insurance agent and ask as for information/advice/recommendations.  The more info you have, the better to make a decision.

[The Zip]

23 minutes ago, Kubs said:

I would contact the police, and when they cant do anything take a baseball bat to the windshield of the car that hit you.  It wont solve anything, but it will make you feel better! 

Yeah it might make him feel better, but the irony in that is to hope the other person doesn't have a dash cam.

[Centex14]

In my case the police, my insurance, and the other driver's insurance all said they couldn't get the person to return their phone calls so they weren't able to go any farther with the case and questioning.  It sucks.

[Loco-diablo]

How long ago did this happen? I would definitely contact the PD with the new info. Do it asap.

[Donstar]

Definitely report your findings to the police.  Your chances of a resolution are slim but are much better than if you don't report.  There almost needs to be a reward system for those that own up to their mistakes!   It is really sad that so many people don't realize that taking responsibility for their actions is the right thing.  The word is out there that you won't be punished if you don't admit to an accident but will be if you do the right thing.   I once had a phone number left on my windshield of a guy who knocked out my taillight.  He was apologetic and asked me for the repair bill.  I never did get my money but I wasn't left with that violated feeling you typically experience from a hit and run.

[garagerog]

Many years ago 3 teenage boys were horsing around in a Mickey D's parking lot and managed to scratch the door on my prized Chevelle SS. A good Samaritan witnessed this and reported the driver's license number to the police whom in turn contacted me and basically asked me how I wanted to proceed. I told the police if they wanted to give me the boy's phone number I would contact them and see if they were agreeable to working the damage off which they were. So I had 3 teenage boys doing yard work for me on a Saturday when I'm sure they would be somewhere else. They were really good kids, just being teenagers I guess. All in all it worked out well and those boys learned a valuable lesson. Unfortunately times have changed and I don't think that scenario would play out any more.